I just got back from getting my toyota filter put on and getting my oil changed. While under the car my mechanic informed me its about time for me to get a new muffler since mine is starting to rust through(just alittle). He recommended after seeing my CAI that I get his best performance muffler he carries..so..
1) Has anyone ever heard of Powerflow by Jones Mufflers? It isnt straight through design but it's supposed to have excellent flow and it wont be coffee can loud. I want a quality performance muffler that looks good and won't moan all day long, but will let the SHO know when i'm beating it Any suggestions on a muffler type/brand? (quality, performance, and not too loud)

and

2) I asked my mechanic about the ticking noise coming from my engine. I figured it was the VTC's, but I'm not so sure anymore. the ticking sounds to me like a lifter. He thought that too. It sounds like its coming from under the valve cover...the vtc's arent there correct (arent they above the valve cover on the left?) So anyway, he said for $60 about he can take it off and check it out...then replace lifters if need be. How much are lifters? Sorry this is long, but that ticking is starting to worry me. btw i have 140k and it still pulls like a ***** from hell. Good ole VE 5-spds

 

Isn't that ticking annoying? I used 15-40 in the car and the ticking was gone completely ( I had to this with my VE's both with 130K) others might have some other bits of info though-

 

the ticking may be a broken exhaust stud or two. I've heard on the VE though that broken studs wheeze, not tick. I know on my VG the broken studs tick like valve noise.

a performance muffler is only good if you have performance exhaust (2.25" or 2.5" all the way through), that includes a performance cat and y-pipe.

 

Yeah Y-pipe will happen when it needs replaced, just like the rest of the exhaust. Muffler went first so it's getting upgraded first. What's stock pipe? 2inches?

 

Since the SE has a timing chain, can't the chain clack?

 

That was another thing that came up when we were discussing it. I don't know when it was replaced, since I have only had the car for 5k. Too bad I won't really know what it is until I blow the 60 bucks to pop the top.

Don't the chains need replaced around 60-80k?

 

No, as far as I know its just the timing belts that need to be replaced at 60k. I've had about 3 mecahnics tell me that the timing chain will last as long as you take care of the car. Some have claimed to run for 500k on the factory timing chain.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong....

 

Boy that would be nice...

 

Don't forget that over time the chain will stretch and then cause timing to be off by a bit. so if you're over 100K miles I'd suggest that at some point you replace it, just to "tighten" up the timing.
But it is true that chains rarely break

 

Cool that's good news. Does anyone have any idea how much it is to replace a lifter? This is for a 92 VE.

 

have you grounded your vtcs yet i bet its those they will sound like the ticking is comming from under the valve cover id ground them first to make sure because its proboly pretty rare a lifter goes dry unless the engine was run low on oil

 

The VTC's are under the valve cover, or at least the noise from them sounds like its coming from there. Did your mechanic guess at the noise or did he actually check the condition of the lifters/springs under the valve cover? Before replacing my VTCs, my friend and I checked the condition of the lifters/springs because that's what we thought it was also. My lifters and springs were fine. If you are really not sure, take it to a Nissan dealer and get a diagnostic. It costs around $30 and they will probably end up telling you its the VTCs.

 

My mechanic was just guessing. The noise definitely sounded like it was coming from under the valve cover, but if thats what the vtcs sound like, then I'm guessing thats the problem. My car seems to haev been taken really good care of in its lifetime. I know the guy before me who owned it replaced anything that needed replaced. So if the lifters can last to 500k, I'm guessing its not them. I'll see if I cant figure out how to ground the VTC's and see if its really them. Thanks for the help guys.

 

The best bet is to get a second opinion before buying any parts from this mechanic and to get another mechanic to check it out

 

If it were me, I wouldn't bother to replace the muffler just yet if I was planning on upgrading the whole exhaust at some point. If this is an OEM type muffler there's an outer shell and an inner shell. My outer one has already rusted and fallen off, but the inner one is still in good shape.

I'd just leave it if it's not in danger of really rusting through yet and just hope it lasts until the y-pipe change. If it doesn't and the car suddenly gets louder it's no big deal, just have it replaced then...